Overview: The Spyderco Karahawk Karambit with the Emerson Wave opening system is a good self-defense tool for every-day carry. The traditional Karambit style blade retains effectiveness in a fight while allowing the knife to be of a relatively small overall size. The Karambit, or “tiger claw” style blade when used in conjunction with Pencak Silat martial arts style movements is devastating to soft tissue despite its diminutive size. In fact, the small size of this knife is one of the characteristics that makes it excellent for carrying regularly. With practice, the Emerson Wave opening system allows the user to open the knife while removing the knife from his/her pocket very quickly and efficiently. The Emerson Wave is a great feature, but like anything else it takes practice. This opening system, along with the traditional Karambit index finger loop delineates this blade to be most effective in a strong side pocket carry. The fit and finish on this knife, like that of most of the Spyderco knives we’ve reviewed, is exemplary. The only major drawback is a design flaw that does not allow this knife to be used in a Silat double strike movement. This is unfortunate because a Karambit is the only knife can cut twice in one strike with this movement. The Karahawk cannot perform this movement due to the excess width at the base of the index finger loop. Please see the pictures below comparing the Spyderco Karahawk Karambit to a Bone Tactical fixed blade Karambit blank with arrows pointing to the area of concern. This however, is not a “deal breaker”, the Spyderco Karahawk Karambit is still an incredibly effective self-defense tool despite being limited to the fixed reverse grip position. Finally, the Karahawk is also a very effective less lethal tool when held and used in the closed position it effectively strengthens and hardens closed hand strikes with a similar effect to that of “brass knuckles”. The blade of the Karahawk features VG-10 steel that is ground to a razor sharp edge. The G10 handle scales are perfectly contoured to fit any size hand and allow for complete control. The pocket clip is expertly designed to be utilized for either left or right handed individuals. It can be drawn in the blink of an eye and put into action just as quickly by an experienced and practiced hand. The team at Bone Tactical has tried everything in our power to cause a failure in this blade, from training in the combat type scenarios it was designed for to being used as a utility knife. I personally have used it for everything from cutting 3/4 inch Amsteel rope to demonstrating knife fighting techniques on pork analogs in said training scenarios. I can honestly say that not only did it perform flawlessly but I also was amazed at the ability to hold an edge after all the abuse we put it through. We here at Bone Tactical can confirm that this blade with definitely meet and exceed all your personal defense and combat needs.Spyderco Karahawk Karambit – Emerson WaveTest Period: 6 Months Author: Kilo 11 Pros: Opens quickly with practice, small enough to carry daily, very effective self-defense tool. Cons: Finger hole too wide at its base [unable to double strike, see comparison picture], & Edges of finger hole a little sharp. Rating: 8 out of 10 Bones. Specs: length overall: 6.50" (165 mm) blade length: 2.35" (60 mm) blade steel: VG-10 length closed: 4.50" (114 mm) cutting edge: 2.05" (52 mm) weight: 3.8 oz (108 g) blade thickness: 0.098" (2.5 mm) handle material: G-10

Overview: We chose to bring along this Spyderco Schempp Rock bushcraft style blade to one of our recent wilderness survival schools to see how it held up against some routine outdoor tasks. We categorize this as a bushcraft knife because of the large, forward-sweeping blade that lends itself well to cutting and chopping. Although this knife is too large to carry as a combat/fighting knife or a defensive weapon, it would serve those purposes well if one had it on hand. We evaluated the use of this knife for food preparation, clearing brush, chopping wood, creating tinder, hunting, gathering, and for use as a potential weapon in a survival scenario. A few of the unique properties that stood out to us in the testing process were: choice of steel, overall weight, sheath quality, and the overall design of the knife itself. The Schempp Rock fared well in the woods and would prove handy for the average outdoorsman or outdoors woman. Trekking through dense brush allowed us to see if this knife was well suited for blazing trails, but the Schempp Rock proved to be too light and small for clearing brush. Once we found a camp site we began scouting for food and gathering fuel for a fire. The Schempp Rock worked well for chopping kindling into more appropriately sized pieces for fire building. Up until this point the surprisingly light blade for its size had been a major benefit since it was easier to carry than a traditional large bushcraft blade. Now it was apparent that due to the thin profile and VG-10 construction of the blade it wouldn’t handle chopping as easily as a thicker, more traditional high carbon steel blade. The grip area of the knife was designed extremely well in that it fits the ergonomics of the hand allowing for a very secure purchase. The excellent grip and maneuverability of the light blade allowed for easy tinder shaving and whittling. When we gathered some eggs and cooked them in the coals of the fire, the length and shape of the blade made preparing the eggs easy. When we used the knife to set snares and traps it fared well in cutting small branches and twine necessary for this procedure. The knife did not lend well to skinning an animal but it worked and was much better than not having a knife. In the case of meat preparation and skinning the knife proved to be a little long and it’s obvious it was not designed for this purpose. Next we fashioned the knife into a spear. This proved difficult because the width and contour of the handle scales. We had to take a convex center section out of a relatively large sapling and affix the knife in place with cordage and some gorilla tape we had on hand. The spear worked well and we even used it to kill a copperhead that infiltrated our camp. The copperhead made a nice addition to the eggs and rabbit we had for food that day. The spear also would have worked well for defense against large animals, and would have worked for spear hunting as a last option. The knife itself is well designed and well built. VG-10 is one of my personal favorite types of steel for use in knives, but this is the first time I’ve tested it as a bushcraft blade. With the exception of a small chip, the blade held up well through testing. Again, the blade is very light for its size. This is good and bad depending how you look at it. It’s excellent when carrying the knife all day, its bad when chopping. The forward-sweeping, kukri like blade is obviously designed for chopping but it lacks the weight of a kukri and the angle of forward projection is also less than that of a kukri. This means it doesn’t chop or slash as well as a kukri but chops better than most other blades in its weight class. The rear upswept portion of the blade on this knife is well suited to more precise tasks like that of creating shavings for tinder as mentioned earlier. The injection-molded, fiberglass-reinforced-nylon handle scales are simple and feel good in the hand, they are a nice compliment to a well-designed grip. The butt or pommel section of the full tang knife is steel and shaped well for hammering objects. There is also a cutout for those who may want to attach a lanyard. The injection molded sheath for this knife is very well made and the retention is nearly perfect. Although I’m a big fan of the Spyderco G-clip as an attachment method it almost seems like an afterthought as an attachment for this large sheath. However, the sheath has plenty of attachment points and the user can choose and easily use a better suited method of attachment. We recommend this knife for anyone who wants a large, multi-use fixed blade knife that is light enough to carry all day. Pros: Lightweight yet large, well made, excellent sheath, multi-use knife. Cons: Lightweight yet large, thin blade profile, slightly uncomfortable to carry using the G-clip. Rating: Eight out of ten bones. Specs: length overall: 12.25 " (311 mm) blade length: 6.75 " (171 mm) blade steel: VG-10 length closed: n/a (n/a) cutting edge: 6 " (152 mm) weight: 9.1 oz. (257 g) blade thickness: .125 " (3 mm) handle material: FRN

The Spyderco Knives ( www.spyderco.com ) Pygmy Warrior. An adaptation of the original warrior knife designed by Randy Wanner, produced by Bob Taylor, and associated with Michael Echanis (all martial artists in their own right). This spyderco version is a reproduction of the REKAT Pygmy Warrior prototype from decades ago. The fit, finish, and materials are all excellent. However, the original design flaws of the Pygmy warrior were also reproduced in this version. That being the handle having too many sharp angles. Mainly the butt/pommel and bolster/thumb rise areas. These sharp edges on the handle make the knife inherently dangerous to the user and in certain situations more difficult to employ, but these are small design flaws that can be easily fixed with a grinder... If you can bear to grind away on a very expensive fixed blade knife ($299.95 MSRP). These angles are also not as dangerous to the user when the knife is being used in a reverse grip, as it was designed to be used per the Korean knife fighting techniques of Hwa Rang Do. Overall, this knife is still a masterpiece. The blade is an excellent Japanese VG-10 steel with a cutting edge of approximately four inches. Normally Spyderco knives come extremely sharp from the factory, and all of our Spyderco knives have with the exception of this one. Our guys tend to carry what I'll call a "work" blade, and a "defensive" blade. The work blade is regularly used for common cutting tasks and regularly sharpened. The defensive blade is used only for cutting flesh. Whatever the purpose we only carry knives that are sharp enough to shave with. We had to re-sharpen this one when we got it. The saw pattern on the back of the blade can be used for trapping limbs in a close quarters altercation or cutting rope and other fibrous materials. The handle of this knife is one the best handles of any combat knives being currently produced based on sureness of grip alone. I am considering this a combat knife based on size (just over nine and a quarter inches), and design. The grip on a combat knife is so important because without a secure grip the user can either cut themselves while stabbing or lose the knife when slashing. Both are potentially fatal mistakes when using a knife in a defensive situation. It comes with four G10 scales to allow the user to adjust the grip width to their own personal preference. We are going to 550 paracord wrap this one just because we enjoy paracord wraps. The blacked out look is nice and effective at not causing glare or reflecting light. The knife comes with a nice thermoplastic sheath and we really like the Spyderco G clip attachment. The lock up on the sheath is slightly less than excellent in the model we received but the odd shaped blade makes a perfect lockup with Kydex/Boltaron difficult to produce. Overall this knife is a little rough around the edges (pun intended), but its a genuine remake of the original with some slight improvements and makes for an effective combat/fighting knife. We would recommend this knife to anyone willing to take the time to learn to use it in a reverse grip fighting style (as it was designed to be used) who is looking for a smaller blade than the original Warrior.Author: Delta 11

Spyderco Knives ( www.spyderco.com ) recently sent us a "Fred Perrin Street Beat" in for review. When I first picked this knife up my initial thoughts were, "this handle is tiny", "I'm gonna cut my fingers off if I have to do any real stabbing with this thing", and "the grip is way too slick"... Well, after carrying this knife and really taking the time to get a feel for it, I discovered my harsh initial impressions were more misinformed and jaded than CNN. First off, Fred Perrin is an ex-French commando who knows how to make an elegantly simple and utterly effective blade. This Spyderco collaboration is no exception. As a fellow martial artist I have grown fond of this variation of the age old Bowie blade type that does two things and does them well... Slashing and stabbing. It doesn't fill the palm or sit well in a choked up grip for carving, shaving, and whittling like a bushcraft knife should. It doesn't have sharp, eye-catching angles, an exotic finish from factory, or custom serrations like you'll find on a lot of new popular new fixed blades hitting the market. This knife has a very specific purpose that it serves it extremely well. A smaller version of Mr. Perrin's full size fighting knife the street Bowie with a blade length of three and a half inches, and a cutting edge of three and a quarter this is the smallest "combat effective" blade I will carry. It was designed for concealed carry and covert operations as a back up weapon or a deep cover CQB tool. There's no sharp edges on the handle or a finger guard because they tend to get stuck on clothing when drawing from concealment. The pommel is rounded and smooth and lends well to a quick palm strike when a little extra leverage is needed to puncture dense objects like bone or Kevlar. VG-10 Japanese steel has always and will always be my favorite non-american blade steel so I was already on board with that, and this knife came extremely sharp from the factory as is usual with Spyderco knives. The finger choil is huge, and rightfully so because it and the jimping on the spine are the only thing allowing for a firm purchase. My only complaint is the smooth Micarta scales but I have already ground a frag pattern into mine for added traction when "wet". What the handle lacks in grip texture it more than makes up for in sheer beauty and aesthetics. The kydex sheath and Spyderco G clip are excellent, and I have found a concealed IWB cross draw to take less than a second for full employment with proper training and attire. This knife is perfect for deep cover concealed carry, or as an addition to your concealed carry firearm. It is employable much faster than a folding knife, has no moving parts that can fail, doesn't take up any pocket space, and weighs less than 100 grams! The strong points of this knife are its small size, light weight, concealability, simplicity of design, and ease of use. The only negative I have found is the very smooth Micarta grip, although this does allow for easier carry and faster draw. If you're looking for an EDC (every day carry) fixed blade the search stops here.Author: Delta 11